Joy in the Journey part 1

Here is a recap of our journey.

The original plan was for Mom, Dad and Nicole to meet Michelle in Ft Lauderdale Saturday night at the airport. Our flights were supposed to get in within an hour of each other. Then we would spend the night as a family at the Hampton Inn.

This is what really happened- Michelle leaves SLC has no problems gets to Ft Lauderdale Saturday night as arranged. Mom, Dad and Nicole get on the plane in Seattle. Sit on the plane in Seattle. Find out that the plane is having an issue.

(plane #1)

Get off the plane in Seattle. Call the airline to find another flight out of Seattle. Spend a long time on the phone. Get in line at the counter. Finally find a flight to Vancouver, BC. Leave secured area to pick up luggage. Go check in at Air Canada. Pay for bags to be checked again, informed that we should check our connecting flights "just to be sure" try to get a refund for our luggage we paid for at US airways (you can't do it at the ticket counter you have to do it online) Go through security again. All while in a big hurry so we don't miss our new flight.

(plane #2 on our way to Canada)
Arrive in Vancouver. Clear Canadian customs, clear US pre-clearance (remember Vancouver is just a pit stop) Almost leave our suitcases sitting on the carousel in Canada because we were told that they would be checked through to our final destination. (they weren't) Check in for our next flight, go through security. Try to let the hotel know that we won't be there until the morning but Michelle would still need the room. She doesn't have a credit card but they can charge Mom and Dad's. They need a copy of the card and a photo ID. Mom and Dad found a nice lady who scanned the cc and the ID and emailed it to the hotel. (we are international right now) Finally board the plane after minor delays.Arrive in LAX- We have to switch terminals so yes we get to go through security again...

Board the plane head to Charlotte on the red eye!

Try to sleep on the very full, stuffy plane. I decide that those neck pillows are so not worth it.

Arrive in Charlotte! I love this airport I wish I could have stopped to take pictures but no time we have to hustle to yet another terminal to catch our last flight. Security again.
Board plane to Ft Lauderdale. Another very full flight. SO TIRED! We had been traveling for 26ish hours (i think)

FINALLY ARRIVE AT FT LAUDERDALE at 10:00 am on Sunday morning. YAY!!

Go claim bags. Mom's is the only one that came down the belt. Go to baggage people. She locates the 2 missing suitcases. They are in Phoenix. Dad and Nicole have no clothes and the cruise ship leaves at 4. Our bags were expected at 4:04 and could be to the terminal in 15 minutes. The next place we could meet our luggage would be St. Maarten on Wednesday but no guaranty. US air tells us to just buy what we need and they will reimburse us.

Finally, we take a taxi to the hotel where Michelle is. We are finally together as a family. Wahoo! It is noon and we are scheduled to take the 1:30 shuttle to the ship. Mom, Dad and Nicole quickly shower and get dressed. Being that all I have is a pair of shorts, a tshirt and my swimsuit. That is what I put on. Dad and I run across the street to a Beall's outlet. Have you ever been to one?? No, it was like a Ross outlet. Can you imagine. I found some tshirts, underwear and some dress shoes (formal night) I figured I could buy a dress on the ship if I had to and I did have my swim suit. Dad found some basics and we bought a carryon suitcase and threw everything in at the checkstand. I am sure the cashier thought we were crazy. Then ran back to the hotel. We took the shuttle to the cruise terminal where we "cruised" through check in and security. By the time we got on the ship we had been through security 7 times. And that is how our trip started.